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27 4. Communication Items <br />28 Public Works Director Marc Culver provided a brief review and update on projects <br />29 and maintenance activities listed in the staff report dated January 28, 2020. <br />30 Chair Cihacek updated the Commission on the Forestry Task Force Supergroup <br />31 meeting. <br />32 5. St. Louis Park Climate Action Plan <br />33 Ms. Emily Ziring, Sustainability Manager at the City of St. Louis Park made a <br />34 presentation on St. Louis Park's adoption of a Climate Action Plan and their <br />35 sustainability goals. <br />36 Member Misra asked how many cities in Hennepin County are covered by the <br />37 building Benchmarking Ordinance. <br />38 Ms. Ziring indicated right now it is only Minneapolis, Edina and St. Louis Park. <br />39 She noted it is a good start and other cities in the County are interested as well. <br />40 Member Wozniak asked if the cost of construction or renovation of a building <br />41 would increase due to the requirement for EV charging. <br />42 Ms. Ziring explained it is such a drop in the bucket when talking about million- <br />43 dollar buildings. It is not something the developers have balked at yet. The <br />44 developer can sell it as an amenity and a great selling point. <br />45 Member Wozniak asked in regard to the two ordinances, were those driven by the <br />46 fact that there was a climate action plan or were those ordinances spontaneous. <br />47 Ms. Ziring explained both ideas are in the climate action plan, so she suspected <br />48 those ordinances were launched out of that or born from that. She noted it is a <br />49 really good step on getting large property owners to take action on energy <br />50 efficiency. <br />51 Member Wozniak asked how important it was having the students initiate their <br />52 action to get this off the ground. <br />53 Ms. Ziring explained it was crucial and the Youth Commissioners on the <br />54 Environment Sustainability Commission are crucial to the success of that group and <br />55 the outreach that the Youth Commissioners do and the ties the city has with the <br />56 high school and City Hall are really important and bringing that youth voice has <br />57 been very important. <br />58 Member Misra asked what sort of receptions has been received from developers, <br />59 the business community and multi -family housing since implementing these <br />60 standards. <br />61 Ms. Ziring indicated on the Bench Marking Ordinance there were two open houses <br />62 to be able to talk about the proposed Ordinance before going to Council. There <br />Page 2 of 5 <br />